New Hope
for the Bali Starling?
The island of Bali appears as
no more than a tiny speck on a
map of the great Indonesian archipelago.
Barely the size of Rhode Island,
it nevertheless has a reputation
out of all proportion to its size.
Visitors flock to Bali from around
the world, lured by palm-fringed
beaches and luxury resort hotels.
Yet the real magic of Bali lies
in its people and their amazingly
rich cultural tradition. Visitors
to Bali who leave the tourist
enclaves and venture into the
picture-postcard countryside quickly
discover that the Balinese live
in close harmony with their surroundings
and have a deep and enduring understanding
of nature.
One manifestation of this is the
Balinese love of birds, which
figure prominently in folklore
and the arts, and which are widely
kept as pets for the beauty of
their song. Indeed, to the Balinese,
song is more important than appearance.
Wherever you travel in Bali you
will see cages hanging from the
eaves. Made of bamboo, they are
often elaborately decorated and
brightly painted. Tucked away
in inner courtyards, even simple
homes will often contain substantial
aviaries housing a large variety
of songbirds - and occasionally
even kingfishers and woodpeckers.
Abundant fruit, supplemented by
insects and locally made pelleted
food makes it possible for the
enthusiast to keep many indigenous
species.
Birdwatchers in Bali have noted
a marked decline in wild bird
populations in recent years, and
attribute it largely to increased
trapping, exacerbated by habitat
loss and disturbance. Although
cage birds have been kept in Bali
for centuries, the human population
has tripled in the past 70 years
and its purchasing power, fuelled
by a booming tourist industry,
has likewise exploded. The resulting
increase in demand for birds has
been dramatic. Not only have cage
birds grown in popularity, but
the newly-affluent now compete
for the rare and exotic, which
lamentably have become important
status symbols.
Bali's long-established bird market
is open from 8 till 4 seven days
a week. Largely supplied by itinerant
dealers from other parts of Indonesia,
it can be an unbearably depressing
place. Here you can see hundreds
of birds crammed into cages, where
they mostly change hands for a
dollar or two and are carried
home in paper bags. Less conspicuous
and often hidden away, are the
protected species selling for
very high prices, and of these
perhaps no species is more sought-after
than birds like the critically
endangered Bali Starling.
The Bali Starling, also called
Rothschild's Mynah, was first
described as new to science in
1912. It was named Leucopsar rothschildi
in honor of the British ornithologist
Lord Rothschild, who financed
its collection from Bali. Now
confined to one very limited area
of western Bali, the wild population
has always been small and with
a restricted range, but over the
last half century its decline
has been precipitous. The latest
reports in October 2004 indicate
that only 1 wild individual remained
at large. Several factors have
contributed to this sorry state,
including habitat loss, natural
disasters and, above all, trapping
for the pet trade. |
During the 1960s
and 1970s several hundred birds
were legally exported to the US
and Europe, to both zoos and private
collectors. They and their descendents,
perhaps as many as a thousand
birds, still live in captivity
around the world, but this number
is less encouraging than it appears.
Many birds are kept as single
individuals, without hope of breeding,
and many more are now too old
to breed. Most of the younger
birds capable of breeding have
come from just a few very successful
pairs and in consequence lack
the genetic diversity necessary
for the continuing health of the
species.
Bali's only endemic bird, the
Bali Starling is an important
symbol and has been adopted as
the National Bird of Bali and
is widely represented in art.
Yet curiously the Indonesian authorities
acted slowly to protect the dwindling
population and failed to implement
the few safeguards that were enacted
into law. Not only did poaching
continue - fuelled by increasing
prices as the numbers declined
- but a large camp for Maduran
coconut plantation workers was
allowed to become established
in the heart of the remaining
breeding area, despite it being
within a special protected area
inside the West Bali National
Park, already a wildlife preserve!
In years past the few outside
agencies that have attempted to
provide for the continued survival
of the Bali Starling in the wild
have met with little success,
their efforts being thwarted by
the authorities, who naturally
resent what they considered to
be unwarranted outside interference.
Happily, it seems that at the
last minute a new realism has
emerged and finally concerted
efforts are under way worldwide
to create a solution. One only
hopes it is not too late!
Success, it is believed, hinges
primarily on two factors. Strict
enforcement of anti-poaching measures
and reintroduction back to the
wild of genetically diverse captive-bred
birds. Both depend, in turn, on
local cooperation and funding
that is both adequate and continuing.
One novel approach being tried
is to gain the cooperation of
village priests to invoke religious
interdicts as protection against
poaching. A precedent for this
already exists, community participation
proving far more effective against
poaching than policing by a handful
of low-paid guards. In the mid-1960s
a large egret colony suddenly
appeared in the village of Petulu,
roosting there at night but radiating
out to feed in the surrounding
rice fields each day. Believed
to be the souls of those killed
in the great anti-Communist slaughter
in 1965 that brought President
Suharto to power, the egrets (popularly
called herons) have become a great
tourist attraction. Their safety
is assured by the will and vigilance
of the villagers themselves, who
thereby benefit from the birds'
presence. |
